Stabilizing aeroplanes.



NEW nsam ses x E. BOURDELLBS. STABILIZING AEROPLANES. APPLICATION FILED OOT.'31, 1910.

1,030,968. Patented July 2, 1912. W

3 HESTS-SHEET 1.

E. BOURDELLES. STABILIZING AEROPLANES. APPLICATION FILED new. 31, 1910.

Patented July 2, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E. BOURDELLBS.

STABILIZING AEROPLANES.

APPLI'OATION FILED 0013.31, 1910.

1,05,;(L968, Patented July 2,1912.

1 3 SHEETS-SHBBT 3'.

My I

air-ship at any instant.

EMILE BOURDELLES, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

STABILIZING AEROPLANES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 31, 1910. Serial No. 589,881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, EMILE BOURDELLES,

I citizen ol the Republic of France, residing at. I35) line Galilee. Ptlt'lS, lfiranemliave invontedcertain new and useful improvements in Stabilizing of eroplanes, ot

-whieh the t'ollmving is a specification.

The stability of aeroplanes is obtained at present in an approximate manner by means of a good ."distribution of the surfaces, attained preferably by stabilizing systei'ns of pendulums or gvroscopes which are defective the first owing to their lack ohsensh tiveness and'the latter owing to their oomplieation. These methods moreover are notsutlieient in themselves to insure a good 'alue for the angle of attack whielialone enables in aeroplanes of constant surface the ot'itaining of a permanent condition of llight at dill'e 'enl' speeds. For example an aeroplane having an angle of attack of (5 for the speed of ($0 kilmneters per hour, should have an angle of attack of about 3 at 85 kilometers and 1" '30 l'niniites'at- 120- kilome ters lret'ause the quantity KSV" sin.

A (A being the angle of attack) should reimposoibility ol obtaining by hand angles" which vary for eaeh speed of running within such narrow limits.

The device according to the present in-' .\'ention has for olneet to enable the angle of ineidence tobe automatically adjusted to the value eorl sponding' to the speed of the. When the supportin planes are eaused to rise by increased air pressure thereon they operate suitable means. hereinafter described, by whieh the angle of incidence ot the front, ruddersis decreased. and conversely, it the. pressure on the sustaining planes is below a predetermined normal the angle of ineidence oi. the front rudders is increased, so that the gtaieral angle. of the aeroplane to the. herizon is kept normal throughout the time of flight. It therefore insures longitudina stability and at the same time if desired transverse stability.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and.2 are diagrammatic trans\-'erse'.sectlons of two constructional forms of the inventlon. Fig. 3 1s a diagrammatic sectional plan showing the detail of the transmission of movements used in carrying out thein-n.

vention. Fig. 4 is a corresponding t'ansverse section. Fig.1) is a diagrammatioseotional plan of a modification of the trans-.

mission. Fig. 6 is a. corresponding transverse section.

shown in Fig. 1 each of the planes (ii is omted at Z) to its point of connectionto Patented July 2,1912.-

the frame 0, and extended by a lever. d aeted on by a. spring 0 in the direction producing lowering of the plane. This-spring may be arranged to work in extension or eonipres;

sion. The ends f of the. lovers (Z each aotnate through the agenov of eonneeting cables or rods an elevating rudder situated on the same side as the lever with respect to the trame when the-rudder at the front. of the frame. or on the opposite side, when the.

ruddenis fitted. at the back of the frame. The effect produced is the following. In

permanent running each plane experiencea from the air a vertical react-ion equal to half the weight of the apparatus. it the pilot increases the speed of light of the aeroplane the. sustaining reaction on the planes (RSV sin. A) increases but then the planesrising slightly the lUYOt'StZhl'Q lowered and actuating the elevating rudders (diminishing their angle ol? attack it they are in lrent) diminish the general angle of.

the aeroplane to the horizon and eonseetl'ert pr-othiced it lhe speed decreases on it tor any eausc the inrideneo ot the planes and eonsetptently their upward thrust should .lwt'mlit, too weak. 'lfjhe osoillations ol' the springs may be damped in any known main er. la the same way it the speed. of one of the planes only relative to the wind should may. in consequence of an eddy for example. the etl'eet of which would tend to eapsize the aeroplane. laterally this plane would actuate theelevatingrudder on its side which owing to its non-synnnet-rieal reaetion would right the aeroplane thus insuring automatic transverse stability.

It transverse stabilization is not. desired,

the hereinbefore described apparatus provided with two independent rudders may be used to aetuate a single rudder placed at the trout or at the baelc.

tn the ease of air-ships with several supporting surfaces, or even tot eertain monoplanes it may be of advantage to form the eonneelion l. the planes with the frame by several sets of rods as illustrated in Fig. 2. The superposed planes n are by means oil a standard jointed to two or several rods h which are themselves jointed on a standard of the Frame r in .-:lltll a manner thatthis stamlard. the standard r and the said rods /t l'orm a jointed norallelogram. The levers (Z .l'or aetuating the elevating rudder are then integral with one ol' the sets of rods It.

To enable the aviator to vary at \\'ill and during tlight the tension of the springs e (on which depends th amount of the tilting power autonniti ailly stored by eaeh plane) the tension ol' these springs may be altered by the pilot in the manner done in the regulation of motor-ears, either by displaeing 5 the point ol attachment of the springs or by means of an auxiliary or opposing spring \vhieh an be more or less stretched. My way of example big. it shows in diagrammatie plan the :ietualion ot' the stabilizing deviee described above.v tn the ll \'])t)tllesl.\

' tends to hit up, the lever cl rigidl eonneeled to this plane will tend to lower; its end f :tbdeuds lherelore to displace itselt' to the til) right. .-\n endless wire at guided on pulleys n and passing over a drum 0 rigidly oonnerted to the ehxvaling rudder p, will teml to point the latter downwardly. It the lel't plane it should also tend to tilt up owing to increasing speed ol' the air-ship as a whole the eorresponding lever i! would p int the lel't elevating rudder in the same direction as rudder p. 'lh aeroplane as a whole would therel'ore have a dimin' ished angle ol' attack. It on the other hand the right plane it only reeeives too great a vertical reaction eaused by eddies ol air tfl' to destroy transverse equilibrium the end 1' would move to the right exerting pull on the cable l/L, thus revolving the. right drum 0 and with it the rudder p, thereby pointing the trout edge ol the right rudder p downwardly. .\l the same time the spring 1- eonneeting the two levers r/ (l' would move the end a similar amount to the right. thus ttlllfilllg tltt lel't rudder p to Hit. by the aetion of the eable ,1 revolving the drum 0 and the rudder in a (lireetion to raise the l'orward edge of the latter. 'l'he two rudders thus produee a righting couple in the per vendieular plane of the major axis of the aeroplane whieh eonple would lend to restore etpiilibriuoi. To enable moreover the pilot to him -tt' ai-tnate at will the elevating rudders, the column 7' supporting the steering wheel, passes through a ring 8 attached to wires 1 with restoring springs i interposed, and a spring 7'. If the pilot moves the steering column and consequently the ring 3 to the left or to the right, he creates a transverse couple tending to ineline the aeroplane to the left or to the right. If he. moves the ring a in a fore or aft direction he points the nose of the aeroplane or makes it lift upward.

Fig. 5 shows another system of control of simplified type where the automatic actuating wires in of the levers and the Wires t 'aelnated by the pilot are in the same system.

The device described may obviously be unalilied in detail. For example instead of jointing eaeh ot the supporting planes at to a eorresponding longitudinal axis b b they eould be jointed about: a common hinge b situated in the plane of the longitudinal axis of the air-ship. Again the spring 0 may as shown in ehain dotted lines in Fig. 4 be assisted or even replaced by one or two springs l! t interposed in a cable btixed t0 the two plane and passing over a pulley n situated at the lower part: of the t :11110 of the air-- ship. It is also obvious that the automatic aetuation ot' the elevating rudders by os- ,ol the ligure it the right plane 11 jointed;Ieillation ot' the sustaining surfaces may be ahout a longitudinal axis (1 on the tramej a transmission between auxiliar supporting surtaees' sueh as ailerons, the wings pro er being then independent of the said rudders.

The oscillating sm-l'aees instead of being eonneetial to elevating planes may equally well be eonneet ed to cells. The end f of the levers (I may also be connected to the actuating meehanism for the warping of the planes so that an automatic warping would result as well as a variation in the vertical thrust or in the titling power. Lastly the connection between the oseillaling surfaces and the member whieh they ('ontrol, instead oi being made through a direet transniission may e ntain an internualiary meehanisin such as a serwi-molor.

Having now described my invention what l elaiin as new and desire to seeure by Letters Patent is: t

1. in air ship embodying therein like supporting planes at ea h side thereol each ot said supporting planes being vertieally, oseillatable about an axis extending in the direetion ol' tlight, elevating rudders, and eonneetions between said planes and said rud ders. whereby displaeement ot said.planes will automatit-ally operate to correspond ingly displaee said rudders and maintain the longitudinal and lateral stability ot the air- 1.oao,ees r n a cillatable abont an \qxis extending in the dithe longitudinal and lateral'stability of the reetion of fli ht, a flexible member connected airship. T 10 .to the oppos tely disposed end of each sup In testimony' whereef I have afiixed my porting lane, elevating rudders, and con signature in presence of two witnesses.

nections etween said planes and said rud- EMILE BOURDELLES ders whereby displacement of said planes Witnesses: will=automatieallyoperate to correspond- HENRI Monm,

ingly displaee sa1d -rudders and maintain I H. C. Coxm 

